Moonlace
by UnexpectedChair
Summary: Emotions are fragile. Broken so easily. Heroes are also unexpected. Some emotions can be comforted by moonlight and thoughts. Maybe people you least expect. Maybe even plants.


Cold.

When you're trapped in emotions, that's what its like. Cold. Clarisse was known to be tough, fearless, and cruel. People often respected her, but out of fear. No actual respect for Clarisse. People often said the Ares cabin was cruel, and their leader especially. _Apparently they think I don't have feelings, _thought Clarisse bitterly. No true friends outside of her cabin. Only people who feared. Clarisse walked through the forest, spear at the ready. She walked towards an unknown area, or at least unknown to the rest of the camp. Today she heard those stupid Aphrodite girls talking about her. They said some nasty things, and surprisingly it had pierced right through her armour, her skin, her heart her soul. right in the weak point. They talked about how ugly she was, how much of a brute she was. "Clarisse like totally is an eyesore. She's so ugly I thought she was a emposai!" said Drew. Clarisse replayed Drew's cruel words in her mind many times. She arrived at the clearing to a beautiful sight.

A small waterfall trickled down from the base of a small hill, covering the entrance to a cave to which Clarisse was heading. Wildflowers were scattered about. Overall, it was breathtaking. The moonlight illuminated the area flawlessly, making it look like something from a fairytale. The dampened rocks glittered. Ivy framed the Cave. The water from the waterfall emptied into a small pond. Lightning bugs fluttered by. Clarisse doubted anything could ever comfort her more than this. She walked into the cave. It was dirty, and filled with Ivy. It was damp, and the calm noise of water dripping echoed through the cave. It was perfect. In a potted plant, a silver moonlace lay, just so deep in the cave that moonlight barely reached it, yet it grew strong. It hadn't bloomed yet. Clarisse walked to the back of the cave and grabbed a long burnt-out (but still use able) torch and lit it with a lighter that she ever so gracefully produced from her left pocket. She lay it in a clay torch holder fastened to the side of the cave wall. She walked to the other corner and picked something up. A small, brown, dirty teddy bear. She embraced it tightly. She didn't care what people thought the moment she hugged it. was a bear she had had since she was a child. When the monsters found her on her way to camp, they destroyed everything she had except for the little bear. She held it close. She thought to herself. They weren't very nice thoughts.

_Why do I even try? I've waited to bloom as a great leader for the cabin, but I've never had the chance. _Clarisse thought. "If the fates haven't given me the chance yet, will I ever have that chance? Everyone else has proven to be great. The only time I was ever considered great was with that drakon and the blessing of mars. all the other times I was overlooked. And that's often." She realized her pitiful thoughts formed into words as she put emotion into each and every word. She stared out into the mouth of the cave. The moonlace still hadnt bloomed yet. She listened to the trickle of the water flowing from the waterfall. It was more like a rush, but her mind shut out most of the noise. The water covered only half of the cave mouth so she could easily look out as long as she continued to sit on the left side of the cave. Her breath sounded... Doubled. She suddenly became aware that she was NOT the only one in the cave. Someone stepped out behind a small boulder that was near the entrance of the cave. Clarisse felt like punching a wall as the girl stepped into view.

It was Drew. Clarisse wanted to do several things at once. Most of them not very PG. Drew looked at Clarisse in sadness and pity, but not cruel pity. Then again, you could never tell with drew. Clarisse's emotions suddenly burst. "Go on. Go. Go tell all your pathetic little friends that I go and hide and curl up with a teddy bear. Go on! Why aren't you going? you obviously want to. You think Im cruel? Look at you! You spread rumors about people, talk behind their backs, and sometimes don't even bother to realize that we have feelings too! Go on back and tell everyone! Why aren't you leaving?!" She was practically screaming in anger. This girl had caused her so much emotional damage. She then realized Drew was crying. Drew hugged Clarisse and sobbed. "Im-So sorry-" Drew managed to gasp between cries. Soon, Clarisse was crying too. After much shared pain, they calmed down. Drew caught eye of the moonlace, and Clarisse told Drew what it was and explained the properties of how it grew best in moonlight. Drew suddenly spoke. "Its like you."

"What?" said Clarisse, utterly confused.

"Its in the perfect condition to bloom, but it hasn't yet. Its like you." She explained. "It needs a little encouragement. Late bloomers often shine the brightest when they finally do bloom. you just need some encouragement." She nudged the potted plant forward into the moonlight. It burst open in an array of colors, like a rainbow. it glittered beautifully. the rainbow light from the plant lit the cave, just as the torch gave its final light. The colors glittered on the damp rocks, making the scene so glorious that it felt like Aphrodite had made the place herself. Drew spoke.

"I guess everyone is like Moonlace sometimes."

Clarisse silently agreed.

It wasn't cold anymore.


End file.
